Another Roofing Question

One of the roofing companies I am getting an estimate from uses
CertainTeed Landmark shingles. I had never heard of them before. Are
they comparable to GAF and Owens Corning?
Also - my husband and I are unable to agree on something. He thinks
the shingles sold as being okay up to 80 mph are sufficient for us
(Tampa Bay area) and I want the 110 mph kind. The 110 mph kind cost
$1000 more (approximately) but I figure the peace of mind is worth
it. Anyone here have any actual experience with hurricane winds and
shingles. Thanks.

The shingles should be fine; the maker has been around "forever." I
had 106 mph winds last winter that took off about a quarter of my
roof. The shingles were bottom of the line, 30-year shingles that were
37 years old.
I had shingled one of my outbuildings four months before with 20-year
bottom-of-the-line shingles and I lost nothing off that building. Has
more to do with the age of the shingles than the rating, I suspect.
I am surprised at the price diff., I would have thought $300-$500
extra for the hurricane shingles....How many companies gave you
estimates?

I had my roof replaced in 1984 with what was (supposedly) the best asphalt
shingles then available, the 30 year warranted brand called CertainTeed
Landmark. They were unquestionably the heaviest and most expensive available
at the time I bought them, and were one of the few brands to offer very
dimensional "architectural" shingles. It is now nearly 24 years later and
the still look great.........and I live in a climate with very cold, long
winters and pretty hot summers.
Smarty
wrote:

If the roofer is comparing the shingles I'm thinking of, the next step
up shingles with Certainteed are the Presidential TL. They're
considerably more expensive by themselves, but also more labor to
install.

The price quote was for my neighbor's house and it is about the size
of mine. I have 1665 plus a double garage, whatever total that would
be. I have not talked to the rep from the roofing company ... he is
coming next week. I want to know what questions to ask about before
he comes so I won't be wasting his time and mine. I would keep the
receipts in a safe place so the insurance company would have to pay
for the same quality shingles if I made a claim.

CertainTeed is at least as good as the two you mentioned.
Your husband, as you are well aware, is generally wrong. :)
I would imagine, for peace of mind, you'd want the higher rated
shingles, and I'd be surprised if Florida's code doesn't require the
higher wind resistance rating.
Regardless of which shingles you choose, the nailing pattern is
important. Most shingle manufacturer's require 6 nails per shingle in
high wind areas. Normally, there are just four. Florida also
prohibits using staples, so look for the What?-Staples?!-Staples-suck!-
and-no-one-uses-them-anymore reaction from the contractor when you ask
about them.
R

Two other people on my street are interested in new roofs, that is, we
want to get them before hurricane season gets here though none of us
currently have leaky roofs. One man we know got a new roof this past
week and he got the heaviest one (110) offered and I heard the price
was $14,000. It was Owens-Corning.
One neighbor got an estimate in the mail yesterday from a company that
uses the CertainTeed kind. It was for the premium (80 mph I
think)...the estimate $8500. The company rep is coming out Tues. to
give me an estimate so I have been looking through my friend's
material to see how I liked it. I am getting another estimate later
in the week from a company that uses GAF everything. I got his name
off My Safe FL home web site but don't know anybody who has used him.
The company which uses CertainTeed has done a lot of work around my
neighborhood ... I see their trucks a lot. I've only talked to one
person who used them and he was satisfied with their work.

One clue is whether the particular shingle is approved for installation
in Miami/Dade. Shingle co. website should have that info. Miami/Dade
building dept. has data on thousands of products - shingles, windows,
shutters, etc. - which might provide more info about particular
shingles. I checked out the site for windows, but not for shingles.

If you still have the link for Miami-Dade I would love to have it. I
called our Pinellas Co. building dept and the man who talked to me
didn't have answers to many of my questions.
I am in the non-evac zone. We have been advised to brace the gable
end (one end only, the other has a cathedral ceiling and braces
itself) but nobody wants to do it....one person suggested we close up
the vents at each end of the house to keep the wind out. He thought
the air brought in by the soffit would be enough if we got a vent
ridge along the top of the house.
Our next door neighbor has two very large oak trees but there aren't
any in our yard. The limbs have been trimmed so they aren't directly
over my house. It's still "iffy".

Here is the link:
http://www.miamidade.gov/buildingcode/pc-search_app.asp
The gist of the issue with live oaks is when there looks like a "seam"
in the bark between two joined limbs, rather than continuous bark all
around...means it is two separate trees and much weaker than one tree
with two limbs, if that makes sense.

I have not followed all of this thread so someone may have said this.
Two resources for looking up products approved for use within Florida:
http://www.miamidade.gov/buildingcode/pc-search_app.asp
http://floridabuilding.org/pr/pr_app_srch.aspx
You may want to check:
www.mysafefloridahome.com/
It's a program where you can get matching funds to upgrade your roof,
get shutters, brace your gable ends, etc. You can get up to $5,000.
Part of the program involves someone coming out to inspect your home
and evaluate it to determine where you get the most bang for your buck
for wind mitigation efforts. Inspectors ability is a little bit hit
and miss in my experience. Rather than guessing what you should do
(sounds like you are?) you might get someone that knows more.
Your local building department should be able to tell you what the
"code minimum" requirements are for the windspeed in your area. Next,
you'll want to check what discounts your insurance company offers.
"Code Minimum" is not the same as "Code Plus" which is what many
insurance companies are going towards.

****
I have applied to the My Safe Florida Home for a grant. They do not
reimburse you for putting on a new roof because that is considered
routine maintenance. They will, however, pay one half the cost of
putting the tape down on the seams while the roof is off to waterproof
it in case the shingles blow off ... keeps the water from coming into
the house and they mention "improving the survivability of your roof
covering. For example, upgrading to a thicker and stronger hurricane-
resistant roof shingle". The neighbor who just finished having his
roof done was approved for a grant. It's too soon to know how long
the process takes.
I did find a web site for my (Pinellas) county where you can type in
the name of the company manufacturing the shingles and it says if
they are approved, specifically by type of shingle.
I called my insurance company to see if they had the names of roofers
who they might have worked with and in the course of the conversation,
the woman who was a secretary volunteered the information that they
(State Farm) did not give any deductions on insurance for upgrading
the roofing material. There was a mention on the local news that a
man spent several thousand dollars improving his house against
hurricane dangers and his insurance company gave him a $16 reduction.
Don't know which ins. co. he had. I would love to get a lower price
for insurance but I am not expecting it to happen.

I've only experienced 70 mph winds, Tampa Bay area. That is as fast as
I ever care to see. Lots of shingles gone, including concrete, in our
neighborhood. Due to installation problems with our roof, the roofer
had been back to glue down the tabs - probably saved ours, although we
did lose a large skylight from our atrium.
I would be inclined to believe that the difference between 80 and 110
mph will give you more to worry about than shingles. The extra $1,000
might be better spent to put on hurricane straps if you don't already
have them.
How near the water are you? Above sea level? Trees near the house? I
went to a couple of hurricane seminars, and the most interesting speaker
was the county arborist. Shingles won't be worth dirt if you have
1,000# of live oak coming down :o) He illustrated features about trees
that make them dangerous, other than the obvious dead limbs.
We are on the water, so if there was a direct hit, I would leave for
higher ground. A 12' storm surge, at high tide, would flood our condo.
A 20' storm surge with 20' waves would be a problem for neighbors on
fourth floor. Another interesting tidbit is that in highrises, the
winds are faster than at ground level. Hurricane shutters here a must,
IMO. My hubby went out at the height of that storm to retrieve a
recycling barrel, very heavy, that was blowing down the street. He is
exceedingly strong, but it was a struggle for him to get it back home.
In one of the floods up north - Jersey? - I saw a TV spot about a guy
who put plastic sheet and sandbags all the way around his house and
about four feet up. His neighbors were all flooded out, but he had no
water in his house. I contemplated something similar before we
evacuated, but hubby didn't go for it :o)

Yes, CertainTeed has been around for over 100 years and has good products.
I have them on my house.

I don't know if the price difference is good or bad since that depends on
the size of your roof. The only time you need the 110 shingles is when the
wind is over 85 mph. If I lived where you live, I'd spend the extra and get
them.

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